50 Music Quiz Questions and Answers
This page lists 50 real questions from the Quizlino Music category, each with four options, the correct answer and, where available, a short explanation. They are arranged from easy to hard, so you can start at the level that suits you. The full category contains 260 questions spread across its levels, so what you see here is a sample to study from, not the whole quiz.
- Cover the answer line, read the question and decide on your option first.
- Check the answer, then read the explanation even if you were right.
- Make a note of the questions you missed and come back to them after a few days.
- When you feel ready, play the timed Music to test yourself properly.
Music: Easy Questions
Warm-up questions that most players can answer.
Q1. Which instrument is known as the "King of Instruments" because of its size and range?
Answer: B. Organ
Explanation: The pipe organ is called the King of Instruments because of its great size, power and wide range of sounds.
Q2. Which famous music festival is held annually in the California desert?
Answer: B. Coachella
Explanation: The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held each spring in Indio, in the California desert.
Q3. A standard concert grand piano has how many keys?
Answer: C. 88
Explanation: A modern piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black.
Q4. Which singer was nicknamed the "Queen of Soul"?
Answer: B. Aretha Franklin
Explanation: Aretha Franklin, known for songs such as Respect, was called the Queen of Soul.
Q5. Which instrument produces sound using a double reed?
Answer: C. Oboe
Explanation: The oboe is played by blowing through two thin reeds tied together. The bassoon is also a double-reed instrument.
Q6. Which music term tells a performer to play softly?
Answer: B. Piano
Explanation: In music, piano is the Italian word for soft and is written as the letter p. Forte means loud.
Q7. Which country gave birth to the musical style known as Tango?
Answer: C. Argentina
Explanation: Tango developed in the late nineteenth century in the working-class districts of Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Q8. Which member of a choir usually sings the lowest male notes?
Answer: C. Bass
Explanation: Bass is the lowest male voice, below baritone and tenor.
Q9. Which legendary guitarist was famously known as "Slowhand"?
Answer: B. Eric Clapton
Explanation: Eric Clapton was given the nickname Slowhand in the 1960s while playing with the Yardbirds.
Q10. Which family does the trumpet belong to?
Answer: A. Brass
Explanation: The trumpet is a brass instrument, played by buzzing the lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece.
Q11. Which symbol cancels a previous sharp or flat?
Answer: B. Natural
Explanation: A natural sign cancels a sharp or flat and returns the note to its normal pitch.
Q12. Which composer wrote the famous ballet "The Nutcracker"?
Answer: C. Tchaikovsky
Explanation: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed The Nutcracker, which was first performed in St Petersburg in 1892.
Q13. Which modern music format replaced cassette tapes as the dominant physical format in the 1990s?
Answer: C. Compact Disc (CD)
Explanation: The compact disc went on sale in 1982 and overtook cassettes as the main music format during the 1990s.
Q14. Which famous music award is presented by the Recording Academy in the United States?
Answer: B. Grammy
Explanation: The Grammy Awards are presented each year by the Recording Academy and take their name from the gramophone.
Q15. Which instrument is commonly used to keep tempo for musicians during practice?
Answer: A. Metronome
Explanation: A metronome produces a steady click at a chosen number of beats per minute to help musicians keep time.
Q16. Which famous composer created "The Four Seasons"?
Answer: B. Antonio Vivaldi
Explanation: Antonio Vivaldi, an Italian Baroque composer, wrote The Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos, around 1720.
Q17. Which genre developed from Jamaican sound system culture during the 1960s?
Answer: A. Reggae
Explanation: Reggae grew out of ska and rocksteady in Jamaica in the late 1960s and was made world-famous by Bob Marley.
Q18. Which instrument has black and white keys but is smaller and electronic in many modern versions?
Answer: A. Keyboard
Explanation: An electronic keyboard has piano-style black and white keys but usually fewer of them, and it produces sound electronically.
Q19. Which female voice type lies between soprano and contralto?
Answer: A. Mezzo-soprano
Explanation: The mezzo-soprano is the middle female voice, lower than a soprano and higher than a contralto.
Music: Medium Questions
A step up in difficulty, for players who know the basics.
Q20. Which instrument is commonly called the "father of the modern piano" because it inspired its design?
Answer: A. Harpsichord
Explanation: The harpsichord, whose strings are plucked, was the leading keyboard instrument before the piano, whose strings are struck by hammers.
Q21. Which singer became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify?
Answer: C. The Weeknd
Explanation: The Weeknd became the first artist to pass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, in 2023.
Q22. Which Italian word in music means "slow"?
Answer: B. Largo
Explanation: Largo is an Italian tempo marking meaning very slow and broad.
Q23. Which instrument is traditionally used in Indian classical music and has sympathetic strings?
Answer: B. Sitar
Explanation: The sitar has main strings that are plucked and a set of sympathetic strings beneath them that vibrate on their own.
Q24. Which band released the iconic album *The Dark Side of the Moon*?
Answer: B. Pink Floyd
Explanation: Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973, and it became one of the best-selling albums in history.
Q25. Which country is considered the birthplace of Flamenco music?
Answer: B. Spain
Explanation: Flamenco comes from Andalusia in southern Spain and combines singing, guitar playing and dance.
Q26. Which famous composer wrote the ballet *Swan Lake*?
Answer: B. Tchaikovsky
Explanation: Tchaikovsky composed Swan Lake, which was first performed in Moscow in 1877.
Q27. What is the main function of a tuning fork?
Answer: C. Produce a reference pitch
Explanation: A tuning fork vibrates at a fixed pitch when struck, giving musicians a reference note for tuning.
Q28. Which singer is known as the "Rocket Man" because of one of his famous songs?
Answer: A. Elton John
Explanation: Elton John released the song Rocket Man in 1972, and it later gave its name to a film about his life.
Q29. Which instrument normally has 47 strings?
Answer: A. Harp
Explanation: A modern concert harp has 47 strings and seven pedals.
Q30. Which genre combines country music with elements of pop music?
Answer: B. Country Pop
Explanation: Country pop blends country songwriting with pop production and has been popularised by artists such as Shania Twain and Taylor Swift.
Q31. Which symbol tells a musician to gradually decrease the volume?
Answer: B. Diminuendo
Explanation: Diminuendo, also called decrescendo, means gradually getting quieter. The opposite is crescendo.
Q32. Which famous Austrian composer was a child prodigy?
Answer: B. Mozart
Explanation: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in Salzburg, was composing by the age of five and performing for European royalty as a child.
Q33. Which instrument is the largest member of the brass family in a standard orchestra?
Answer: D. Tuba
Explanation: The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument in the orchestra.
Q34. Which city is home to the famous Sydney Opera House?
Answer: C. Sydney
Explanation: The Sydney Opera House stands on Sydney Harbour in Australia and opened in 1973.
Q35. Which percussion instrument consists of wooden bars arranged like a keyboard?
Answer: A. Xylophone
Explanation: The xylophone has wooden bars arranged like piano keys and is played with mallets.
Q36. Which music era came immediately before the Romantic period?
Answer: C. Classical
Explanation: The Classical period, the era of Haydn and Mozart, came before the Romantic period of the nineteenth century.
Q37. Which legendary guitarist founded the band Van Halen?
Answer: B. Eddie Van Halen
Explanation: Eddie Van Halen founded Van Halen with his brother Alex and was famous for his two-handed tapping technique.
Music: Hard Questions
Challenging questions for confident players.
Q38. Which instrument is traditionally used to play melodies in a military marching band?
Answer: A. Trumpet
Explanation: The trumpet's bright, carrying sound makes it the main melody instrument in military and marching bands.
Q39. Which artist released the hit song "Shape of You"?
Answer: B. Ed Sheeran
Explanation: Ed Sheeran released Shape of You in 2017, and it became one of the most-streamed songs ever.
Q40. Which instrument has pedals that can change the pitch of all its strings while playing?
Answer: B. Harp
Explanation: The concert harp has seven pedals, one for each note name, which raise or lower the pitch of its strings.
Q41. Which country is the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach?
Answer: B. Germany
Explanation: Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, Germany.
Q42. Which musical term means "smoothly connected"?
Answer: B. Legato
Explanation: Legato is Italian for tied together and tells a musician to play notes smoothly with no gaps between them.
Q43. Which famous music awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry?
Answer: B. BRIT Awards
Explanation: The BRIT Awards are the British music industry's annual awards, organised by the British Phonographic Industry.
Q44. Which instrument is most commonly used to perform Indian classical tabla solos?
Answer: A. Tabla
Explanation: The tabla is a pair of hand drums and is the main percussion instrument of North Indian classical music.
Q45. Which singer is known for the albums *25*, *30*, and *21*?
Answer: B. Adele
Explanation: Adele names her albums after her age when she wrote them: 19, 21, 25 and 30.
Q46. Which famous composer wrote the opera *Aida*?
Answer: A. Giuseppe Verdi
Explanation: Giuseppe Verdi composed Aida, an opera set in ancient Egypt, which was first performed in Cairo in 1871.
Q47. Which device changes the loudness of an electric guitar before it reaches the speaker?
Answer: A. Amplifier
Explanation: An amplifier boosts the weak electrical signal from an electric guitar so that it can drive a loudspeaker.
Q48. Which country is the origin of the traditional string instrument called the Oud?
Answer: C. Middle East (Arab world)
Explanation: The oud is a pear-shaped, fretless lute central to the music of the Arab world and the wider Middle East.
Q49. Which band released the album *Back in Black*?
Answer: B. AC/DC
Explanation: AC/DC released Back in Black in 1980, and it became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Q50. Which voice type is lower than a tenor but higher than a bass?
Answer: B. Baritone
Explanation: The baritone is the middle male voice, lying between the higher tenor and the lower bass.
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